Peace in Our Time Reflections: Volume 1
by DC-MarvelGirl 1997
Summary: A short series of vignettes from a few of our X-men, which takes place within the pages of Peace in Our Time: Generation X. It covers Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Iceman, and Tony Stark
1. Jean Grey

**A/N: **

**This is a short story of vignettes taking place within Volume 1. MarvelMaster616 had initially done these reflections to explain events that take place between volumes and allowing us to have personal time with each character. These journal entries will fill in the blanks of what goes on in between. Jean Grey's is up first. As usual, I would appreciate it if you all reviewed and let me know what you think of these. Jean's reflections take place between issues 13 and 14. **

'**This here means psychic communications and thoughts.'**

**And be sure to go and read volume 2 of Peace in Our Time titled Mutiny, as well as my newest X-men story, The Evolution Project. Excelsior friends! – **

**DC-MarvelGirl 1997**

* * *

**Jean Grey **

_One would think that to be me is a blessing. One would think just by looking at me that I am not some damaged, orphaned seventeen-year-old who had been for years trapped in her own head with no escape. They think that because I've got a unique beauty and aura to me that my life is one to envy. _

_Honestly? Those are the people who could kiss my ass. _

_Yes, I am very blessed now. I have friends. I have someone who took me in and had enough compassion in his heart to help me. But before my life as "Marvel Girl" of the "X-men", my life felt like a curse. _

Jean Grey paused upon writing in her diary, closing her eyes as she breathed out a contented sigh. For the past couple weeks, her and her new-found friends at X-Corporation had been labeled the "X-men" by the media.

'I've got the feeling that that word, X-men, isn't really being considered a compliment,' she thought as she continued to write.

_Up until the moment Professor Xavier adopted me as his daughter, my life had been living hell. But it hadn't always been that way. Before any of this ever happened to me, I'd had the perfect family up until the age of five years old. I know. You'll probably laugh when I say that my family was perfect. But it _was _perfect. I had a well-off mother and father – my mom was a doctor and a well-respected one, too. My father had been a history professor at a local community college – in fact, he'd been head of the history department and had had doctorates in Art History and European History. My parents were geniuses, and two of the smartest individuals I'd ever known. _

_Growing up, my mom and dad always made me and my siblings feel so loved. I remember that there was never a birthday or a Christmas where my siblings and I didn't get exactly what we wanted. One year, I had asked for this stuffed doll of a Cyclops that I had seen in Toys R Us for my birthday, and my parents hadn't only gotten me that. They had gotten me an additional five more stuffed toys. All I remember was how excited me and my identical twin sister, Madelyne, had been, when our parents showed us our birthday gifts that morning of our fourth birthday. We'd screamed so loudly, I'm sure the neighbors had heard it. It had scared our pet cat, Prometheus, shitless. My parents were so giving. My mother especially had been selfless and the most caring, loving mom ever. My dad always took the time to answer my phone calls even if he was in the middle of teaching a night class. _

'Maddie,' Jean thought as her eyes stung with tears, but she pushed them back.

_Madelyne had practically been my best friend. She and I were inseparable, and all we wanted was each other's company. Of course, we also appreciated the company of our older siblings, as well. _

_My oldest brother, Roger, I remember so clearly. He'd been wanting to go to college to study music. In fact, I remember him to have been a lead singer and guitarist of a rock band he'd had. I remember his voice . . . how when he sang, it carried out throughout our house. And of course, his friends didn't mind me and Maddie being around. The sound of him singing and playing the guitar was heaven to me. _

_My eldest sister, Sarah, had been the one to love a good debate in my household. I remember growing up, she would constantly watch the news all the time. She was into politics, and I mean deeply into politics. She loved watching shows like _Law and Order _and _Blue Bloods. _I remember her talking about how one day, she was going to become either a criminal lawyer or a forensics analysist or a cop. She wanted to defend those who couldn't defend themselves. And she loved to prove people wrong. She had the Grey family stubbornness and pride, and with that came a lot of determination. _

_My other older sister, Julia, was more diplomatic out of my siblings. All I remember about her was that she had been one hell of a cook – she loved spending time perfecting various recipes in our kitchen and trying to create dishes from all different kinds of cuisine around the world. And she was always good at it, too. I remember how one day, she actually got me and Maddie to eat chicken and potato graham masala. Of course, me and Maddie being the picky eaters that we were at that age, we were perfectly content with dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets and French fries, but it was Julia who got us to open our pallets up to things we never thought we'd ever want to try. She just had a natural talent for cooking and baking. She never failed to impress at family parties for Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter. She made sure that we ate really well. _

_And lastly was my older brother Liam. From what I remember of him, he was always the life of the party. When we went to Point Pleasant for our vacations as a family, Liam always made sure Madelyne and I had a good time. He was charged with taking us to the boardwalk to buy us ice cream and would teach us how to boogie board in the ocean. He made every vacation enjoyable for us. One of my favorite memories of him was when I was home sick throwing up; he'd came home after school, and instead of tending to his homework, he went up to my room, sat with me on my bed, and watched episodes of _Power Rangers: Time Force _with me. It had been his favorite, and he damn well made sure that I had the same level of appreciation for it that he and my other siblings had. He absolutely didn't have to do that for me; in fact, he'd had a science test the next morning, but he didn't care. I was his priority at that moment. _

Jean took the moment to pause from her writing as she moved to head down to the kitchen for breakfast that morning. Tying her hair back into a ponytail, she proceeded to walk down the halls until she reached the kitchen. Pulling out a coffee mug, she proceeded to make herself a strong cup of coffee and pulled out her favorite caramel-flavored creamer before she proceeded to sit down and write more.

_Just describing my family alone lets you know how perfect it was. My parents never fought about anything. My older siblings_ loved _having two little sisters. My identical twin was practically my best friend. Put Maddie and I into a room alone, and we were nothing but trouble. __But that all changed one night. It had been the night we were returning from my eldest brother's college tour of the University of Miami. It was the weekend before me and Maddie's sixth birthday. We'd traveled down to Florida, toured one of my brother's dream colleges to attend, spent a whole Friday at Disney World, and then we were on a plane ride back home. Once we were in the Newark Airport, we got the van out of valet parking and drove on home. _

Jean could feel her eyes misting with tears as she thought about that night. She shakily sipped her coffee as she reached for the pancake mix to make blueberry pancakes. It had been her favorite breakfast growing up, and right now, she needed it.

'God, why did this have to happen?' she thought as she concentrated on getting the measurements correct. 'Why did I have to lose them?'

_It was raining that night. I remember it to have been pouring rain as my father drove the car back to our home town of Clifton, New Jersey. To this day, I feel fear of needing to walk down those streets again. I don't want to have to view that empty house and be reminded of everything that I'd ever lost . . . _

_All I remember that night was that it had consisted of nothing more than the typical for our typical family car rides. Madelyne had been causing a racket in the back of the van, pulling Sarah's hair and throwing a fit. I don't remember exactly what triggered her. But that was typical of Maddie. It didn't take much for her to start throwing temper tantrums and acting like an all out brat who wanted to be the center of everything. While I was better behaved out of us, she was a daredevil. She would always swim in the deep end of the pool. She would always jump down from the kitchen counter. She climbed trees and jumped off the highest branch of any tree, somehow managing to not break her neck. She did gymnastics and always dared go up on the high, uneven bars. If anything, Madelyne inspired me to want to be fearless, just like her. And she wasn't afraid to make a scene, either. She definitely wasn't one that was easy to discipline. All I remember having heard was my mother yelling, saying if Madelyne didn't stop what she was doing, we were not going to the movies that Sunday. Then, it happened. _

_A drunk driver had been driving carelessly, and our car crashed right into it. I remember the van flipping over and the strange sensation of an invisible force shoving broken glass away from me and Maddie's faces. It was a force unlike anything I had ever felt before. And then, I was thrown from the van, out the broken window._

_I've always been one to feel emotions strongly. I'm an emotional human being who wears her heart on her sleeve. Growing up, I was told that I'd had a talent for empathy and being loving. And I can attest to that. Whenever I saw someone crying, I wanted to run up and hug them because seeing their pain affected me greatly. I just wanted everyone around me happy. I wanted everyone around me radiating with __positivity, because like my mother, I was that selfless. Maybe I'm selfless to a fault. But I can only assume it was my empathy combined with the trauma of the accident that caused my powers of telepathy to manifest at such a young age. Up until that moment, I hadn't thought of being talented with empathy and emotions to be such a horrible thing. It made me genuinely want to connect with other people. I'm one who craves connecting with others emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually. Just the simple sensation of one's hand brushing against mine is enough to make me feel every sensation radiating off that person. But when my powers manifested after feeling such pain . . . such devastation and such terror, it had sent me into a state of terror. When I was stuck in those mental hospitals, I'd felt like a fucking freak. _

_I remember having felt such a strong pain in my head as I felt the sensation of death in my mind coming from my parents. It had felt as though my head were about to split open. And I could have sworn I'd heard Maddie's thoughts as well. She was just as scared as I was, and it was almost as though we were feeding off one another's emotions. I just remember screaming before I'd fainted on the pavement. _

Jean paused to wipe a tear away from her face as she sat at the kitchen table to eat her breakfast. But she felt a weird sensation in her stomach as she swallowed and felt a shiver running through her spine.

_Then, I remember waking in a hospital room. I'd been terrified, beyond terrified. In fact, I didn't even answer any of the doctor's questions when she asked me what I remembered. I just remember having been rocking back and forth, sobbing, wondering where my mom and dad and siblings were. And then I'd heard this strange voice in my mind that sounded almost as though it were trying to reassure me. But it had left me more scared than anything. I had telekinetically destroyed the hospital room, and the next day, I was transferred to Mangold, where I was reunited with Maddie, briefly. But only briefly. _

_Maddie and I had been in that padded cell together for approximately two weeks. Those two weeks had consisted of me hearing voice upon voice in my mind, trapping me away in a mental prison. We were just holding one another and crying together until it was announced that I was to be transferred somewhere else, because the doctors at Mangold were overwhelmed and unable to handle me at all. I just remember having been screaming, clinging to my sister as if she were my lifeline. I remember how when the orderlies had grabbed me to restrain me, Maddie had screamed out to them begging them not to hurt me. She'd flung a cot halfway across the room to try and defend me. _

_I'd been in Morrison Mental Institution for the rest of my adolescent years. It had been years of being drugged, receiving electric shock therapy, and being bound with restraints. I remember the thirstiness and starvation I'd felt as I would sit there crying, wearing a rudimentary hospital gown. However, I wasn't necessarily thirsty or starving for food or water. I was thirsty and starving for a human interaction that did not include electric shock therapy and having drugs administered to me. Everyone around me projected crazed thoughts that went beyond abnormal. In fact, one day, I'd nearly gotten attacked by a grown adult male who was faced with a small, pretty, vulnerable red-headed girl. He very well could have potentially raped me if it hadn't been for the orderlies keeping a sharp watch and making sure he was separated from me completely. I'd been so cold and so lonely. At least in Mangold, Maddie had been by my side. She'd been there for a total of two weeks to hold me while we cried in one another's arms. _

_In Morrison, I'd had nothing. Nobody wanted anything to do with a damaged, scrawny, undernourished, traumatized teenager who was almost of the legal age to live on her own. Nobody was willing to give me any chances or take me in, because they were terrified of me. Everything around me was crumbling. Every day, I would pray to whatever God existed that my older siblings would eventually find me and save me; that at least Roger, who had been the brother I'd idolized my entire life, would come and pick me up and raise me as his own. But that was wishful thinking. And then one day, it was like a guardian angel had come to my rescue when Professor Xavier and Hank came and got me. _

Jean smiled slightly as her tears of sadness turned to tears of gratitude, thinking, 'I can't believe how much I'd gained in a month . . .'

_When the professor had come, I'd thought I was dreaming. I'd thought that there was no way someone like him could care about me. But he cared enough to take me in and offer to tutor me on my powers. I'd never thought that someone as simple as Xavier could lead to me receiving a gift so precious. It was because of him that I'd found my best friend in Scott. _

_Scott's been there thought it all. He's seen me through it all since the beginning when we were brought in. He'd made living through this a little more bearable, and of course, Warren and Bobby only helped further. Warren had been one of the first in my life to make me feel as though none of what had happened to me was my fault. He'd talked to me like I was a person, not like I was sub-human or a freak. _

_And now, I've gained so much. I've gained a father who loves me unconditionally. I've gained friendships that I know will last me for life. Professor Xavier truly, with no doubt at all, gave me a family. He'd helped me get my life back in a way that was most unexpected. And of course, Tony Stark sees something in me that is worth nurturing into potentially being part of X-Corporation and being part of a legacy. _

Jean smiled a little wider as she ate her breakfast silently. Only one thought could envelop her mind as she wiped her tears from her eyes.

'Thank you, to whatever higher being there is out there, that this is what I've got now. I don't think I could say thank you enough.'

* * *

**Up next: Scott Summers **


	2. Scott Summers

**Scott Summers (takes place after issue 13):**

_My whole world around me is red, literally. I see the world through a red-tinted vision; the contrasting colors are invisible to my vision. Though that doesn't mean I cannot tell which color is which. Blue comes off as purple. Yellow comes off as orange. This is what happens when you are forced to view the world behind rose-tinted glasses. And no; having red-colored glasses over my eyes doesn't make me naïve to the world around me like some out there would think. In fact, my red-tinted vision brings me more awareness than most would think. _

It was a moment for Scott Summers to stop and take a breath. They'd gotten through battling the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. That battle had happened over a week ago, and as a result, they had saved the life of Senator Edward Kelly. However, despite the actions of him and his newfound friends, their actions were being scrutinized. The sounds of J.J Jameson's voice blared throughout the radio in Scott's bedroom.

"_Who the hell do these mutants think they are interfering? What ever happened to letting the police do their jobs? WAKE UP AMERICA, AND REALIZE THE MUTANTS ARE THE MENACES! And no, I am _not _angry. I am just expressing my LOVE for this country. Do you hear it in my voice? DO YOU HEAR THE LOVE?!" _

Scott proceeded to shut off the radio, rolling his eyes behind his ruby quartz glasses.

'Wow, looks like our number one fan is in the loving mood. Yeah, I'm feeling the love,' he thought.

_My whole childhood, I had been trained to be aware and disciplined. The Summers family is a bloodline of soldiers, and my mother's family is no different. My father and my mother had raised me and my little brother to follow in their footsteps of being militaristic and disciplined. My father was the definition of a hardass, but he was fair. He never raised his voice, let alone lay a hand on my brother and I. If Alex or I were acting like flat-out brats, my father just carried himself like a Navy Seal; he would just stand there and not even raise his voice. He would stand there, stare us down, and repeat our names with a sense of authority that got us to listen. That alone was enough. Even my mother was tough as nails, but she was the most loving, nurturing mother any child could ask for. _

_My father, Christopher, had been an upstanding member of the U.S Air Force. The fact that Ms. Danvers had revealed to me that she had been trained by my father didn't surprise me at all. Knowing one of my personal trainers knew my family personally brings forth a feeling of comfort I hadn't thought ever existed. I hadn't felt this kind of security in years. _

Scott breathed out a sigh as he got up, going over to grab hold of his guitar which rested in his room. Grabbing hold of it, he rested it on his lap and strummed a melody to My Chemical Romance's "The Only Hope for Me is You".

_Before the plane crash, things had been going well. Well, as well as one could hope for a family with connections to the military. My mom had been a military scientist. I don't know what her research had consisted of. Whatever it was, it must have been beyond top secret, because she hadn't told me or Alex anything about it. My dad must have known. I remember the night the plane crash had happened. Mom and Dad had been wearing looks of pure worry. I still do not know why they'd looked so worried. But I do know for a fact that Alex and I had been beyond excited. We were more than happy to have an impromptu summer vacation to Hawaii. For two boys who grew up with bitter cold winters, warm summer vacations were a luxury for the two of us. _

_Me being the oldest brother, I was the robust one. So, I can only begin to imagine what had been going on through Alex's mind when he saw me hit that tree when the plane went crashing down. He must've been beyond scared more than anything, especially when he saw me starting to cry. If I weren't strong, Alex didn't seem to know what to do with himself. Hell, when that plane shook and I smelled the fumes of burning metal, all common sense went out the window for me. One of the few things I remember about that night was how I'd just cried my eyes out, my voice growing hysterical as I'd told my mother and father that I had wanted to stay with them. Alex was worse than I was. _

_But I knew that I'd had to be the mature one. I had to suck it up, and I had to be strong for Alex. So, I'd grabbed him by the hand and we jumped out of the plane together. I don't remember looking back to check and see if my mother and father made it out of the plane. All I can really remember happening afterward was that I'd hit my head against the trunk of the tree, and I'd felt the sensation of blood flowing from my head as Alex appeared over me before my world went black. _

Scott's jaw clenched slightly as a shiver ran through his spine as he remembered what happened next. It had been the day he'd awoken from his coma. Jean had told him the story of how _she _had awoken from her coma, and how terrified she had been experiencing telepathy and telekinesis at once. Scott at that time almost would have begged to have Jean's traumatizing experience.

_When I'd awoken from my coma, all I remember having felt was a severe pressure right behind my eyes. I remember the sensation that felt as though it had been burning, like my eyes were on fire. And when I'd opened them, I remember seeing the red compulsion destroying everything in its path, especially as I'd looked up at the roof. I'd blown a hole right through the roof of my hospital room. It was that moment that made me realize that I just could not stay there. _

_So, what did I do? I'd grabbed a bandage that was there, and I'd ran out of the hospital by jumping out the damn window. I was wearing nothing but a hospital gown, and it was bitterly cold, but I did not care at all. All I'd cared about was getting away from there. I was thinking of every horrible scenario running through my mind._

_What if the police were called and they were sent to arrest me? _

_What if the military came to take me and experiment on me? _

_I'd take living out on the streets over that. _

_So, I'd spent some time out on the streets. I do not remember how long I'd lived out there. I didn't have any sense of time I'd spent out there. However, my special awareness had been enhanced. Even though I could not see what was in front of me, I could feel, hear, taste and smell what was around me. I began to grow increasingly aware of my surroundings especially as I dumpster dived for food. Having such a high spacial awareness and taking stock of everything around me only helped with my skills as field leader for the X-men. Spacial awareness was probably one of the biggest things that I took away, because it allows me to find weakness and feel out any space I walk into. I think that's part of why Logan gives me such high praise in Danger Room sessions, because I know how to plan and think of my feet and manage my time. However, I was soon enough found by the police and the child protective services, whom I tried to run away from. However, the police officer told me that there was no use running. _

_And I knew that that was the truth. As a result, I was placed in the orphanage, where I'd lived for a few years until my first foster father, Jack Winters, adopted me. _

_I would never be naïve to trust anyone that quickly ever again. _

Another shiver ran down Scott's spine as he felt his eyes beginning to water with tears. He wanted nothing more than forget.

_When Jack Winters took me in, I was tossed into a life of gang war. I could tell you plenty of horror stories about the life Jack Winters had given me that would send shivers down your spine. They're stories that you hear about all the time on the news, but would never think that it would happen to you. I didn't think in the least that that would be the kind of life I'd be forced into living. It was a life of viewing a world of drug trafficking. Jack in fact had owned his own drug trafficking ring, and had demanded of me to use my powers to help him in his crimes. _

_My role in it all was being forced to using my optic blast beams to break and enter banks. His associates would take the bank tellers as hostages and make sure they didn't say a word. It didn't occur to me until now that some of his associates must have been telepaths, because he always found a way to make sure that his tracks were covered. Then, he would take my blindfold off my eyes, keeping me handcuffed and aiming my head at the access-way to where the vault was located. They would forcefully make me open my eyes. If I did, I would be rewarded with an hour out in the sunlight, and some real food and water. If I didn't, the consequences were what one would consider torture._

_Every time I refused to use my abilities in aiding him, I would receive a beating. And I'd endured some pretty horrific beatings, too. He'd make sure I was kept in a dark room, chained down and forced to lap up water like a dog. However, I never cried out. I never gave them the satisfaction of hearing my pain whenever they beat me. He was determined to turn me into a living weapon and force me to be at his mercy and control. My whole life, up until being adopted by Xavier, had been completely out of my control. Maybe that's part of why Warren and Bobby tease me at times for having "OCD" and being a "control freak". Nonetheless I do agree with them. I _am _a control freak, and I want things done meticulously and done my way. One part of that is the fact that my father and mother raised me from the moment I was in Pampers to be militaristic and in control all the time. The other part of that is the control my former foster father had had over me. Jack made damn well sure that I knew I was under his control. And that meant enduring severe beatings and being berated. Each time he and his associates beat me, they would tell me numerous times that I was only good for one thing. _

_Each time they beat me, they took me to a different hospital for treatment. However, the day it all stopped was nothing short of a miracle. One of the nurses who was treating me at one of the hospitals had called the Child Protective Services and they got me out of that situation. But I knew that it meant going back to the orphanage. _

_Luckily, through it all, Alex and I still somehow managed to be connected. I still talk to him every day because he's the one to make the call every day. And it's something that I never fail to look forward to. Hearing his voice alone brings me the satisfaction that he is safe wherever he is living. But I didn't think that I would be that lucky. _

_The most luck I've ever received was being alive. But even then, being under Jack Winters' control didn't make me feel so lucky. I don't know what I did to deserve what I've got now, this life at X-Corporation that Professor Charles Xavier had given to me._

Scott stopped strumming at the guitar and set it aside, smiling slightly as he headed toward the shower to get ready for the day that would consist of GED tutoring from Beast, and a Danger Room session with Logan.

_When Professor Xavier had approached me, it had been what I can only assume to be a week or so after I'd gotten out of Jack Winters' custody. I did not know why he was there at all. I couldn't help but worry about what was to come, all things considering. _

_But then, I'd learned the professor and Hank had brought someone else along with them. _

_Jean Grey. _

_I know it may seem irrational, but when Jean came into my life at that moment in time, it was an instant sensation of calm I hadn't felt in years. She truly felt like an angel sent from down from heaven in that moment. To learn that we were so similar and had such similar backgrounds brought me a sense of security I hadn't felt in so long. Our weeks we've been spending together, living together under the same roof, she's become what I would consider to be my best friend. _

_And when I saw her after I'd gotten my glasses placed on my face, I was once again feeling another sense of security that I could see what was in front of my eyes. It was through Xavier and Mr. Stark that I had gained a family. For once, I was back in control after years of having been out of control. _

_At least now, I know that with this team now known as "The X-men", none of us are ever alone. _

As Scott stepped out of his room after having changed into full uniform, he saw Jean out in the hallways, wearing her own uniform. He couldn't help but grin at her as she smiled in his direction.

"You ready?" she asked him.

"Born ready," he replied, and the two locked arms as they walked down to the Danger Room for their session with Logan and Carol.

* * *

**Up next: Bobby Drake **


	3. Bobby Drake

**Bobby Drake (takes place after issue 13) **

"I can't believe it. After having transferred schools, I didn't think I'd have to deal with press of being a member of the "X-men". I was just hoping the only thing I'd have to worry about is avoid being pounded on by Flash Thompson and Duncan Matthews before lunchtime," said Bobby Drake as he opened his gym locker. "And I wasn't expecting to have to deal with assholes like them. I thought I'd left those behind at my old school in Boston."

"Hey, okay?" said the voice of his new friend, Johnny Storm, from where he stood next to him. "It's like that at every school, Bobby. You've got your desks, some blackboards and some mean kids."

"Don't think you've left that behind you just because you moved somewhere," added his other friend, Peter Parker as he slapped Bobby on the shoulder with a grin on his face.

"Yeah. It's just like high school without the musical," Bobby said with a shake of his head as he changed into gym clothes.

_Peter Parker and Johnny Storm . . . I'd never once thought I'd meet anyone quite like them, Angelica Jones or Mary-Jane Watson anywhere. Especially Johnny and Angelica, the two hot-heads who just happen to be _dating. _I'm the one who is cool and calm, yet I can't even find a romantic partner yet for myself. _

_Johnny and Angelica, two fiery personalities contrasting to my cool and calm character. I guess that's just the way it works with us. _

_I think that's enough of the hot/cold puns, for now at least. _

_I'd never once thought I'd get tossed into anything like this . . . needing to save Senator Edward Kelly's ass from the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. I'm fourteen years old for crying out loud! Yet, I shouldn't be complaining. Scott and Jean are seventeen, and they're not complaining one bit about it. But at the same time, being a member of what the media is calling "The X-men" as well as an ice-controlling mutant means that I need to hide who I am. _

_I guess that's not such a bad thing. It allows me to start over here now. And I am forever thankful that I'm able to have that clean slate here at Marsden Regional High School located in the Chinatown district of Manhattan. _

Bobby walked into the gymnasium and took notice to everyone lining up for a game of dodge-ball, Peter's least-favorite game of all time. This was especially since their school bullies, Eugene "Flash" Thompson, Duncan Matthews and Taryn Fujiko were on the opposing team.

'Great,' thought Bobby. 'Just what I need, today. As if Flash tripping me in the hallways on the way to class wasn't good enough for him.'

_It just seems as though even though there were a few things that have gotten easier after I'd transferred schools and moved to New York, there are still those difficult moments where I dread going to school. I know I shouldn't be complaining. Marsden Regional is heaven compared to my old school back in Boston. Now, I've gained friendships with four people, who do not give a crap about my being a mutant. _

_Though it isn't as though I hadn't endured hardships before. My mother and father are old-school, working class parents. My father especially has conservative viewpoints. The words "I love you" aren't words he normally tossed around. My mother is quiet and reserved, yet before my mutation developed, she'd been particularly open with affection. If it were up to my parents, the only sex education I'd be able to receive is celibacy; my mother being Irish Catholic, she'd made me get a purity ring once I'd turned fourteen. However, the two didn't leave their disdain for mutants unspoken. In fact, that they're very open about how they think mutants cause problems in the world. I think Magneto only further justifies that for them. _

_Now, my communication with my mother and father is sparse to nothing. Even before my mutation manifested, I'd always felt as though I was different from other people around me. I'd gone to a high school that was very athletic driven. I've got talent for sports. _

_Swimming, basketball, little league baseball, soccer and track and field were common sports I'd always participated in growing up. I'd swam in the summers for a club swim team when I wasn't playing little league. Despite being into athletics and being talented, it didn't strike me that I was different until I was twelve. _

_In the sixth grade, I was on the cusp of puberty. I'd gotten a severe acne problem that took me at least two years to get in control over. There are those days that I wish acne at that time was the only thing that I'd had to worry about. It hadn't hit me until age twelve that I didn't have feelings for girls like a lot of the guys in my class did. _

_That's not to say that the girls in my class were not pretty. It's not that they weren't attractive with their personalities. It's just that _I _wasn't attracted to them, and I didn't understand why. And then, when I was thirteen, I'd learned what the word "gay" meant when one of my classmates had said that her aunt was going to be getting married to a woman. I didn't understand what that meant at first. _

_So, after school, I'd gone home, and I'd ended up accidentally coming across the word "homosexual" in the dictionary. I don't even know how I'd come across the word. I don't know why I was looking up the word. I guess at the time, my curiosity was getting the best of me. _

_The definition of the word "homosexual" was: "a person who is sexually attracted to people of their own sex." _

_When I'd learned what the word meant, I was scared. It made me wonder if that was what I was. In fact, after learning the definition of what a homosexual was, it had bothered me for days, to the point where one day, I'd gotten physically sick over it and I'd ended up throwing up in the boys' restroom at school. It had been a behavior pattern my parents didn't recognize from me. _

_So therefore, I knew instantly that I needed a coping mechanism so that I could hide my fears about what could potentially be my sexuality. I'd discovered my talents of having a sense of humor when I'd cracked a joke that genuinely made my little brother, Ronnie, laugh. It had made my parents laugh, as well. That's what led to me becoming a jokester. Sure, it led to me having a crappy reputation with my teachers, but it had kept me from gaining too many enemies. _

_And for the most part, this worked. It helped me to keep my discomfort at bay. I remember my eighth grade years when I rounded up the guys in my science class to fill up the school's swimming pool with chocolate Jell-O pudding mix. Although the swim team coach had been pissed, the swim team got a kick out of it considering they were jumping into that pool and being crazy enough to eat that pudding. I'd additionally had teamed up with the football team and we stole the rival team's school mascot, a cow! That thing had been mooing like crazy when we'd snuck it down to the boys' locker room. We didn't get caught, thank God, because it was hysterical. It was like that scene from_ Saban's Power Rangers _just without the bad car accident.__ The summer between eighth grade and freshman year, a group of neighborhood kids and I filled up balloons with grape juice and had gone down to the park, making quite the scene by tossing the balloons a passersby. But it wasn't until my first year of high school, when every boy in my class seemingly started finding girlfriends, that I'd found I was under a lot more pressure than most would think. Maybe I'd put a lot of that pressure on myself more than anything. _

_Then, one day, back in September, I'd started getting these strange chills randomly. They would just be simple sensations of cold running through my body at random moments of the day. It got to a point where one day, I'd woken up absolutely freezing. My anxiety at that point was getting worse, but I was still trying my damn best to hide it behind the façade I've created. _

Bobby felt the sensation of being hit in the stomach with a dodgeball being thrown his way by Duncan Matthews, who seemed to made sure to throw it harder than usual. However, before Bobby could even make his way over to the "jail" on the other side of the gym, he felt Flash Thompson strategically throwing a ball that hit him in the face.

"Thompson!" the gym coach shouted. "No headshots!"

'Like he'll ever listen to you,' Bobby thought bitterly as she shot Flash a glare. 'You can tell him twenty times to not do something; he'll do it anyways because he's got the intellect level of a brain-dead fish.'

_It all came to a head the day my mutation fully manifested. I was entering the boys' locker room for gym class, when the chills came back. This was especially as the guys in my gym class, particularly my classmate Duncan, began asking me which girl I'd thought I was hot. Who would have thought that my new high school would _also _have an asshole named Duncan? _

_Anyways, I'd tried. I'd tried my best to go along with the conversation and get those guys laughing. The least I could do was just try and be myself – be the guy at school who had the reputation of being class clown. But it was getting to be too much for even me to handle. The ice had just burst from my fingertips and covered my whole body. It had made me look like a walking icicle. But that was enough to freak out my classmates, who went running for the gym coach yelling about how I was a "mutie". _

Bobby swallowed hard as the tears began to sting in his eyes as he remembered the day his mutation had fully manifested. It had been the day that had changed his life for what felt like the worst. There were still days he felt sick over it.

_After that had happened, before I'd even ran out of the locker room to avoid the gym teacher, I'd ended up running toward a trashcan that had been there and I'd gotten physically sick. Never once did I ever regret eating breakfast that morning. I'd probably spent about two minutes vomiting when the principal came into the locker room, telling me to come to her office and that she was going to call my parents to come and pick me up. I'd never felt more scared to face my mother and father. _

_When they'd arrived at the school to pick me up and take me home, I'd felt the embarrassment, especially since my mom and dad refused to look me in the face. I remember in the car ride home; I'd begged my parents to not hate me. I'd begged them to at least say anything to me. It took everything within me not to start crying especially as I'd holed myself up in my bedroom for the rest of the day. _

_However, it was that moment of me, sitting alone up in my room, dwelling over it all and acting like a miserable little shit that the most life-changing thing happened. _

Bobby could feel his eyes drying as he caught one of the dodgeballs, allowing him to get back in the game thanks Johnny tossing it his way. He cast his friend a smile of appreciation in return.

_Scott and Jean had shown up, walking into my bedroom and just sitting with me. They told me about X-Corporation, and how that could potentially be my one-way ticket out of Boston, my high school, and my parents' house. _

_They'd told me about their own mutations and how they were essentially in the same boat I was. Never once had I ever felt more weight come off my shoulders than in that moment there. Scott and Jean had sympathized enough with me to understand why I'd felt so ashamed in that moment. However, it was them telling me that their parents were dead was my wakeup call. Since then, I've tried reaching out to my parents and at least talking to them on the phone, so that I could at least keep that relationship. _

_But it was Jean who was able to emphasize with me the most. _

_Jean's ability of reading my mind provided her with my thoughts at the time, where I'd been questioning whether or not I was gay. Having her confront me about it in confidence was the first thing that gave away her character and who she was. She had the consideration to talk to me about it after Scott left the room. Never had anyone once been that considerate towards me. _

_It was Jean who had brought me the first, real feeling of security I hadn't felt in such a long time. Just feeling her hug me that day alone was something I hadn't realized I'd needed that day. What had gone from being one of my worst days of my life easily turned around to being the day that I'd gotten this new family._

Bobby internally smiled as the gym teacher announced the game of dodge ball was over, calling for everyone to go and get changed. Bobby, Johnny and Peter made their way to their gym lockers and proceeded to get dressed as quickly as they could before their next class period of the day began.

"Flash Thompson going for the head; yeah, nothing surprising there," said Peter as he shrugged his t-shirt on.

"You'd think he'd develop a new level of creativity to haze people," said Johnny.

"He's a bully, Johnny. What creativity would you expect him to have?" asked Bobby. Unfortunately, Flash and Duncan heard that.

"What'd you say, fag?" asked Duncan angrily.

"Nothing, _Dunk. _Besides, if you want a hobby, how's about coming up with more creative nicknames?" Bobby quipped, pulling his jeans up around his waist.

Duncan just flipped the birdie at Bobby.

"You wanna play twenty questions? No? Not up for talking?" Bobby asked. "Why am I not surprised? Besides, I have to thank you. Because calling me a "fag" is probably the nicest thing you've ever said to me. Well, I wouldn't call it the _nicest. _It's just the less of vile of words you've used against me in this past month."

"Fuck you," Duncan said.

"Fuck me? Fuck you," Bobby quipped.

Duncan just rolled his eyes as he and Flash made their way out of the locker room. Bobby felt Johnny slapping his shoulder.

_After being brought into X-Corporation, it was almost as though I'd gotten my confidence back. And my interactions with the others no doubt helped. Upon meeting Beast, I hadn't expected to have as much in common with him as I did. Hearing him talk philosophy and mathematics to me brought me the strangest sense of comfort. Because as horrible as I am at other subjects in school, my best subjects include gym, Spanish, and math. _

_Math is one of those subjects that feels natural to me. I think maybe I'd like to go into finance. I'm told constantly that I could be great as an accountant if I just work on having more discipline. My teachers, and even the professor, drill it through my head all the time. _

_However, right now, I'm just determined to not allow loud-mouths like Duncan, Flash or even J.J Jameson get the best of me while they sit around shit-talking the "X-men". _

_At the end of the day, I know who I am. _

_I am Bobby Drake. I am Iceman. That's something nobody could ever take away from me, even if they tried._

* * *

**Up next: Tony Stark **

**A/N: **

**Be sure to REVIEW. And be sure to keep up to date with volume 2 of Peace in Our Time since that gets updated bi-monthly – on Sunday, once every two weeks. – **

**DC-MarvelGirl 1997 **

**Also, who is excited about Johnathan Hickman's run on X-men? I'm most likely getting my copy of the first issue tonight. I'm beyond excited to start collecting comics. **


	4. Tony Stark

**Tony Stark (takes place after issue 20) **

"_We are the X-men." _

_To think I would be under supervision of a bunch of teenagers is something I'd never thought would happen in a million years. However, I also know that this responsibility was thrust upon me after Mom and Dad died. _

_If you would think that being the son of a billionaire is everything that you have ever dreamed of, then I cordially invite you to go and fuck yourself. It isn't by any means the life that is portrayed in big-time, Hollywood movies. In fact, it's a life of extravagance and decadence, but that doesn't mean everyone can handle it by any means. Look at actors like Heath Ledger, Robin Williams, Marilyn Monroe, and Cory Monteith. They all rose from stardom, and fell to the mercy of addiction, depression, and other issues. They had access to everything that they could ever hope and dream for, yet they fell from grace and glory. _

_My father, Howard Stark, was living proof of this. _

Tony Stark clenched his jaw hard as he stared out the huge window of his office in Stark Industries. Clutching a glass of whiskey in his hand, he downed it down and poured himself another glass.

_My father had been the definition of an alcoholic. He would just simply reach for the first bottle of hard liquor. And I knew to stay away. When he got drunk, he got angry. Although Mom often tried protecting me, she got the brunt of physical abuse from the hands of my father. _

_This went on until my father approached Charles Xavier. _

_The professor instantly became more of a father to me than my biological father. He took me under his wing and began trying to help my old man get sober. But those attempts were pointless. _

_It all came to a head when my mother and father died in a car accident. _

_Even after we buried them, their deaths impacted me. Like my old man, I began the life of partying, young and stupid. I'll admit that back then, I was a bigger moron than I am today. I would drink until I got piss-faced. I remember how Hank Pym and I one night got so wasted we jumped up on a table singing the ABCs, or at least, that's what Reed Richards and Susan Storm have told us. _

_Then, by the time I hit my thirties, Pepper, the prof, Happy, Rhodey, and Moira MacTaggart took it upon themselves to try and force me to get back on track. And I'd had no choice in it. Being the heir of Stark Industries, I had to take over not just that company, but X-Corporation._

_Many out there, when they heard my father was starting X-Corp, they'd thought it was a joke. They'd thought it was the stupidest idea to come from my father. And they are still saying it to this day. In fact, now that Scott, Jean, Hank, Warren, Bobby and Forge have publicly exposed who they've been in secret over these last few months, people are probably sitting at home, laughing their asses off right now about it. _

"Talk about us becoming one of the biggest jokes in the universe. Senator Kelly is taking us as seriously as he takes Cory Booker and Elizabeth Warren," Tony groaned out loud as he poured himself another glass of whiskey.

_However, I've come to realize something over these last few months. And that is that there are others out there suffering way worse than I have ever suffered. Jean had been trapped in the Looney bin for most of her adolescent years. Scott had been used as a living weapon by an abusive foster father and had faced more physical and mental abuse than I ever did. Warren had been thrown away by his own family and had lived like a street rat. Hell, the poor kid just lost his girlfriend at the hands of his former best friend! And Bobby's family is cutting back on communication with him. _

_The kids are truly something great. In fact, they're already beginning to adapt well, considering all that they've been through these past years of their lives. And God-bless that they are great kids, because if they weren't I would be concerned. _

_However, now, they will be taking big beatings from the public now that their identities have been revealed to the world. As if people didn't take X-Corporation seriously before. Now they've learned we've been housing a team of superheroes in secret. It's truly something that I am not looking forward to needing to face. I know that my future employees feel the exact same way; Warren especially. _

_The fact that Warren had to deal with so much betrayal in his life, especially from Cameron Hodge, just rubs salt into the wound for him. Add to that, Hodge murdered his girlfriend, who had chosen to ally herself with us from the beginning when she and Warren began dating. But Candy had made her choice. That doesn't mean it's any less devastating for Warren to put up with. Add to that, he's publicly known as the X-men's "Angel". I cannot help but have sympathy for him. _

_Dealing with grief is one thing. _

_Dealing with grief in the public eye is another. _

Tony swallowed hard as he set his glass down, finally. Moving to sit in his office chair, he turned off the news and closed his eyes briefly.

_Of course, I feel the loss, too. Candy had been a friend, and was going to eventually become one of my CFOs. She was so smart, and so talented when it came to business. Now that she's gone, it's a tough pill for everybody in the company to swallow down. _

_But Warren hasn't been handling it well._

_In fact, the poor guy has been going out clubbing almost every night to try and get his mind off of it. But the alcohol, best I can tell, isn't making it go away for him._

_I want nothing more than to not see Warren stumble down the path I'd stumbled down. I want the kid to be better than me. I don't want to see him fall into the trap of being like me when it comes to dealing with grief. _

_Now, we're not just facing the death of someone we'd loved. We are dealing with the X-men being known publicly. It is truly something that is compiling, one thing after another. _

_But I do know that the X-men would no doubt be able to handle themselves, like how they've done for the past couple months or so. _

_I don't have much faith in anything. But I've got faith in them._

* * *

**A/N: **

**And there you have it, the final bit of reflections for Peace in Our Time volume 1! Thank you to crimsonknight700 for reviewing and supporting this, because I love writing insights for these characters, and I'm glad you appreciate it as much as I do. **

**Be sure to go and read volume 2 of Peace in Our Time! Excelsior, everyone! **


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